Watch WRAL at 5:30 pm

[Laurie]

I've been told that WRAL is covering the buffer removal story at 5:30 pm today.

[Laurie]

The Dons, Hyatt and Frantz, did a nice job in their interviews. And they didn't even call for the destruction of Lowe's or claim to speak for the majority of Cary residents.

[Brent]

Very good story -- even included aerial shots! The Dons did indeed give a fine interview. Was that a tree I saw behind Don F.?

[Don]

Very good story -- even included aerial shots! The Dons did indeed give a fine interview. Was that a tree I saw behind Don F.?

No, it was public art. Such beauty for so little money........

[Don]

What did we say? :wink: I didn't get to see it.

[Wuptdo]

Have any of our elected reps made TV interviews yet? I am curious about which way the "finger" is going to point.

Wuptdo B-)

[Brent]

What did we say? :wink: I didn't get to see it.

Let's see, if I recall correctly, Don H. (identified as a former "Planning Board Director" 8O ) said something like "You know, this would make a good spot to plant my tomatoes" and Don F. said something like "Forget the trees, I want to talk about Frantz Automotive!". :lol:

Actually, I think that Don H. said something about the buffer being one of the things that made the Lowe's development more palatable, and now it's gone; and Don F. said something like the developer can't put it back the way it was but it needs to be as close as he can get it. Then they closed with Don F.'s remark about "We have $100,000 of truly OPEN space now!".

[Brent]

Have any of our elected reps made TV interviews yet? I am curious about which way the "finger" is going to point.

Wuptdo B-)

I haven't seen any. Two Planning Staff members have been interviewed on camera on the ABC and WRAL reports. Several council members were quoted in the Cary News. So far, there seems to be unanimous outrage from those who have offered an opinion.

The fingers will point in all directions.

[dhyatt]

What did we say? :wink: I didn't get to see it.

Let's see, if I recall correctly, Don H. (identified as a former "Planning Board Director" 8O ) said something like... [snip]

Just a little ironic and embarrassing.....

[Cathy]

It would be great if they planted the lot with long leaf pines, like Johnb suggested.
And if the perimeter were planted with native flowering trees, like dogwoods, redbuds, amalanchiers, and cherries, it would end up looking very natural in about twenty years.
And the long leaf pines might attract some Red Cockaded Woodpeckers. Cary could then be given accolades for providing habitiat for an endangered species.

[kellyc]

Put some apple and pear trees in there too!

Kelly

[johnb]

Scouts doing Eagle projects there could get local tree companies to drop chipped wood from the trees the remove to act as ground cover to stabilize the soil on that hill, provide weed control, and an excellent mulch for the new plantings. Of course, this is all low/no cost suggestions on my part to reforest that land. City staff would never stand for such a thing. You watch, regardless of who picks up the tab (the people of Cary will pay in the end regardless) the cost will be substantial. Cary won't stand for a beer solution when they have champagne dreams.

[Wuptdo]

Why not make into one big scout project to raise money for the local scouts. There is what, 15 packs in Cary alone, not counting the cubs. This can be made into a real "to-do" for the local council (minus their leadership of course). Who knows, maybe the Triangle United Way could donate some trees. 8O

I also vote to add some "white cedars" to the list of trees.

I haven't been there yet, but did they take out the stumps as well?

Wuptdo B-)

[Don]

Not that I mind at all, but does anyone else think it's a bit odd that we are discussing the Boy Scouts fixing a developer/contractors foul up? I think the one responsible should be the one required to make wrong right. Why should the scouts have to bail him/her out? Again, I don't mind at all and would trust the scouts to do a far better job than "paid help", just thinking out loud I guess.

[kellyc]

I think the developer could provide the funds for the scouts and then they could have at it.

[Don]

They better buy the scouts a heckuva lunch then!

[johnb]

They can do something more substantial....but the point is this is a "problem" whose solution is actually pretty easy. If allowed to be easy. It's public land and there is no shortage of cheap/free resources to address it.

What should happen to the responsible party is a second question. First the responsible party has to be identified.

Until that is determined with certainty I wouldn't necessarily be screaming for the developers head. Who set up the orange fence?

[Brent]

On-line version of the WRAL story:

http://www.wral.com/news/2985268/detail.html

[johnb]

From the WRAL story.

"There was some confusion of the people out there, actually the limits of the disturbance and where they could and couldn't go," said Ricky Barker, Cary Planning Department associate director.


I'm not sure Ricky Barker's statement makes any sense. What exactly does he mean?

Was the whole area meant to be protected not marked off properly?

[Brent]

From the WRAL story.

"There was some confusion of the people out there, actually the limits of the disturbance and where they could and couldn't go," said Ricky Barker, Cary Planning Department associate director.


I'm not sure Ricky Barker's statement makes any sense. What exactly does he mean?

Was the whole area meant to be protected not marked off properly?

Precisely. The whole area meant to be protected was not marked off properly. The approximately 2-acre tract that Lowe's already owned and is donating to the town was marked with orange fence. The Buffaloe tract was NOT marked with the orange fence. In addition, some easements existed in the Buffaloe tract to allow certain small portions to be cleared. Apparently plans were not communicated clearly and fences weren't put up properly. Hence, they're trying to sort through who did what wrong.

I am anxiously awaiting the answers and proposed remedies.

[Laurie]

Here is a transcript of the story as it aired. Again, not quite the way it is written online -

David Crabtree: Since 1990, Wake County has lost 80,000 acres of forest. Right now about four of those acres are at the center of a dispute in Cary. That's where a developer accidentally cut down trees the town bought as a buffer to development. Rick Armstrong is live in Cary with the story.

Rick Armstrong: This fence was intended to protect the trees on the other side. This was to be a natural buffer between a large development project and Godbold Park. But last week, a subcontractor bulldozed two acres of this four acre tract. And that has plenty of people in Cary hopping mad.

After much debate and heated public hearings, Cary town council members allowed Lowe's Home Improvement to build a 160,000 square foot store at the corner of Maynard and Chapel Hill Roads.

Don Hyatt: One of the key reasons we were able to approve it has now been leveled.

Rick Armstrong: Former planning board director Don Hyatt was in on the decision for Cary to buy this two acre patch of forest as a natural buffer for $100,000.

Don Hyatt: All these trees should still be standing.

Rick Armstrong: But it only took a subcontactor for Carmel Construction Company of Charlotte a few hours to clear the area on Saturday.

Ricky Barker: There was some confusion, the people out there, actually the limits of the disturbance, and where they could and couldn't go.

Rick Armstrong: The contractor accepts responsibility for the mistake. The town will impose fines and require the contractor to reforest the tract. But some residents say the real damage is done and there's no quick fix.

Don Frantz: No, there's nothing the developer can do to put it back the way it was. He ought to do everything and anything in his power to get it as darn close as he can.

Rick Armstrong: And it all happened in Cary, a town proud of its greenways and open space. They spend a lot of money to keep it that way.

Don Frantz: Now it's gone. So, they've got $100,000 of true open space now.

Rick Armstrong: The town isn't saying exactly how this mistake was made. They're still assessing the damage and that assessment will be finished this week. That will determine what the fines will be and what the cost will be for fixing this mistake.

[johnb]

May I ask the obvious? Who has responsibility to survey and mark off property borders?

[Brent]

May I ask the obvious? Who has responsibility to survey and mark off property borders?

You should ask Town Staff for a definitive answer, but my understanding is that the fence was put up by someone in the chain of contractor/sub-contractor, according to filed plans. And clarity was missing at one or more points in the communication chain.

[Cathy]

Adopted by Town Council February 23, 1989
STATEMENT OF VALUES
The quality of life and environment in the Town of Cary depends upon a partnership between the
citizens, elected officials and Town employees. To protect and enhance the quality of life and
environment of the Town, the Town of Cary will promote the following values:

1. Service is our only product. We value providing the best possible service and will consider
the needs of all segments of the community in setting the priorities of the Town for services.

2. The Town values balanced growth because it leads to fiscal stability which benefits all
citizens. The Town will, therefore, endeavor to make decisions that provide the desired
service levels, economic benefits and long-term solutions that promote balanced growth.

3. The Town will be cost conscious. As a local government, we are expected to spend tax
dollars wisely and effectively for the benefit of all.

4. The Town will make and support good, sound public policy and uphold the values of the
democratic process.

5. In the Town of Cary all citizens and employees will be treated with dignity, respect and
fairness.

6. The Town of Cary will achieve and maintain excellence through a teamwork approach to
problem-solving.

7. The Town of Cary values new ideas and creative thinking and will continue to be in the
forefront of the municipal field.

8. The Town values access to the public decision-making process by the citizens of Cary.
Decisions made by the Town will be honest, ethical, and fair.

9. We are committed to planning for the future and, therefore, value the provision of
infrastructure and maintenance of the facilities within the Town of Cary.

10. Employees are the most important asset of Town government. The Town will, therefore,
endeavor to attract and retain the best employees possible. The Town values personal and
professional growth of all employees and will work to improve the quality of life of the
employees and the community.

[Wuptdo]

Today, I was driving by I noticed a large mound of soil and some heavy-duty drainage work being done on the former "tree buffer." Was this work going to happen on this site anyway, or did plans get changed once the site was cleared? Curious minds want to know.

Go Laurie, go!

Wuptdo B-)

[Brent]

Wup,

This is mostly conjecture, based on what I know about the site plans, but I think it's a good guess. There are two things happening in the area that I believe you are describing:

1. The Lowe's entrance will go down a hill where Evans Rd. currently terminates at Maynard. They are going to run a "tunnel" under this hill, I think as part of the Greenway connection. I suspect that the dirt and drainage stuff in this area is part of constructing this ramp/tunnel.

2. The other interesting thing is that there is supposed to be a greenway connection in this vicinity (from Lowe's site over to the skate park area). There actually was a clearing easement for the greenway connection. But it turns out that the trees that were "accidentally" cleared did NOT even include the clearning that was going to be necessary for the greenway connection! So after the "accidental" clearing, they were STILL going to have to clear MORE trees for the greenway connection! There was talk of rerouting this connection so that still more trees wouldn't have to be cleared, but I don't know how that ended up.

But I suspect what you see is part of item #1.

[johnb]

Hey, maybe the city can buy a bunch of those fake metal trees and have an Inconsequential Art Park on the site Brent? What could be more cool? Cutting real, big, living trees and replacing them with Inconsequental Art the city pays outrageous sums to a dip$h!t "Artist" for! It's a perfect waste of money. It's the perfect government expenditure!

[Brent]

I could go for this, John, if we also included a big stainless steel "abstract bulldozer". :lol: